The title of the article that we published a year ago was – Wedding of the Year – Sally Li He from Qingdao, China and Riccardi Negri from Barga. The love story between the Barga restaurant owner and the Chinese soprano Sally Li He captured the imagination of the city and many of the barganews readers who followed it, at a distance , so to speak. This weekend that story took another step forward with the birth of their daughter, Giada Li Negri. Born 6 pm exactly on year to the day that the couple married in so much style here in Barga.
Giada Li Negri, 3 kilos 100 grams – mother and daughter both doing fine .
A huge well done to Sally and Riccardo, congratulations to both of you from all the staff at barganews.
Sally also appeared on Daily Image’s on the very same day that she went into hospital to give birth to Giada … that image can be seen here
This Saturday Barga Vecchia was assailed by hundreds of people all eager to to join in what was already being dubbed “the wedding of the year”. Sally Li He from Qingdao, China and Riccardi Negri from Barga. For only the second week in March, with a long wedding season in front of us, then Saturday’s wedding must have been something special….. and it was. Regular readers of barganews have been kept up with this story right from day one — back in June of last year.
On the 6th June 2009 Barga welcomed the world famous tenor Dennis O’Neill back to the city. He was here for the 3rd year with the Cardiff International Academy of Voice running a series of masterclasses for budding professional singers with the potential to embark on a career in opera. (article here)
Two weeks later they performed a concert of music by Handel, Mozart, Vivaldi and Bach in the Annunziata church in Barga Vecchia. Singing that evening were; Mary-Jean O’Doherty, Clair Egan, Catrin Aur Davies, Ione Cumming, Renee Martin, Noel Hernandez, Carlos Osuna, Rhys Jenkins, Philip Rhodes, Bulelani Madikizela, Hyun Tae Kim, Julia Lezhneva, Courtney Mills and the soprano Sally He Li.
The Cardiff International Academy of Voice masterclass finished soon after and the singers returned to their respective countries but one remained, captured by Barga and above all by the charms of a certain Riccardo Negri, the proprieter of the L’Osteria in Piazza Angelio — yes, the soprano Sally Li He.
Things then moved very quickly with Sally being voted “woman of the piazza” (article here) and shortly after she was proudly showing to one and all an enormous ring announcing her engagement to be married to Riccardo. As we then published — wedding bells were expected in January 2010.
In fact, there were a number of bureaucratic problems to be ironed out but on Saturday all came to fruition as Sally and Riccardo were married in the Palazzo Pancrazi in front of a huge crowd of friends , family and well wishers. – from the barganews archives 2010